Melissa Anderson

Melissa’s role is…

To help give an impartial view of decisions being made by the board of Welsh Gymnastics.

What’s keeping Melissa busy:

• Managing Director (as well as being a coach) at Valleys Gymnastics Academy, which operates across five local authorities in Wales and has developed significantly over the last five years – winning the British Gymnastics National Club Award and the BG Equity and Diversity Award for 2019.
• Also a Board Member of Merthyr Leisure Trust – Wellbeing @Merthyr

Gymnastics history: Melissa has always been involved; first as gymnast from the age of four to coach to volunteer and club manager. She is extremely passionate about our wonderful sport and the benefits it can bring to everyone. In addition, Melissa is a former lecturer at Cardiff Metropolitan University, where she delivered gymnastics alongside Sport Management and Development.

More about Melissa: Melissa is hugely passionate about the non-sport benefits of gymnastics and physical activity participation – and the removal of barriers to participation in sport and physical activity. Her research background – along with ongoing involvement in active research – is in this area.

This includes research projects with Cardiff Met, Public Health Wales and Street Games Wales and, most recently, a project around barriers to female participation in areas of social deprivation.

Within gymnastics, Melissa is always keen to forge new links with community groups and organisations, which can help take gymnastics to new audiences; her research work complements this and enables her to develop an evidence-based approach to club development.